AN EVENING WITH DR. DAVID ROBINSON NEW JERSEY STATE CLIMATOLOGIST RIDGEWOOD WATER RIDGEWOOD PARKS & RECREATION & THE RIDGEWOOD ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE (REAC) ARE PLEASED TO HOST A PUBLIC FORUM
ON
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2017
7:00 – 8:30 PM
RIDGEWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY ● 125 N. MAPLE AVENUE
ROBINSON WILL BE DISCUSSING:
THE CHANGING CLIMATE IN THE STATE
WEATHER
DROUGHT
EFFECTS OF THE CHANGING CLIMATE ON UTILITIES LIKE RIDGEWOOD WATER
PLEASE VISIT THE EVENTS CALENDAR ON THE RIDGEWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY’S WEBSITE OR REGISTER DIRECTLY AT:
https://water.ridgewoodnj.net/ccevent/
SPACE IS LIMITED. ALL RIDGEWOOD WATER CUSTOMERS ARE INVITED TO ATTEND.
Dr. David A. Robinson is a professor in the Department of Geography at Rutgers University and also serves as New Jersey’s State Climatologist. His research interests are in applied climate, especially related to New Jersey, and in climate dynamics and change, particularly focused on global snow cover. He is a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and sits on climate advisory committees for the National Academy of Sciences and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He has chaired two National Research Council panels and the American Meteorological Society’s Polar Meteorology and Oceanography Committee, and is a past president of the American Association of State Climatologists. Dr. Robinson was recently elected a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society and has received a NOAA Environmental Hero award, as well as the Lifetime Achievement award of the Association of American Geographer’s Climate Specialty Group.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is calling on Congress to hold hearings to address the rising number of tragedies occurring on our nation’s roadways, following today’s announcement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that overall traffic fatalities and those caused by drunk driving increased for the second straight year.
According to NHTSA, 37,461 people were killed in traffic crashes in 2016, and drunk driving was involved in 10,497 traffic fatalities. Drunk driving fatalities are up 1.7 percent over 2015, when 10,320 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes. The new data shows a 5.6 percent increase in overall traffic fatalities — up from 35,485 traffic fatalities in 2015. The overall traffic fatality increase of 8.4 percent in 2015 was the largest increase since 1963 to 1964, and alcohol-related fatalities increased in 2015 by 3.2 percent.
In New Jersey, the toll was 601 people, the NHTSA reported.New Jersey saw a nearly 27 percent increase in alcohol-impaired driving fatalities, the fifth highest rate in the nation.
“for the second year in a row, we are seeing increases in highway deaths — both overall and alcohol-related — after years of steady decline. We cannot stand by while more families are left to pick up the pieces after these tragedies,” said MADD National President Colleen Sheehey-Church. “Everyone needs to step up to find a solution to this national crisis.”
MADD remains laser focused on the Campaign To Eliminate Drunk Driving, launched in 2006. The Campaign supports high-visibility law enforcement, such as sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols, state laws requiring ignition interlocks for all drunk driving offenders, development of advanced vehicle technology and public support for these initiatives. Drunk driving deaths have decreased by 22 percent since the Campaign launched, but the past two years of increases shows that more must be done.
Ignition interlock laws are a key feature of MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving. The newly released NHTSA data shows a continued decline in states with ignition interlock laws. Thirty states and the District of Columbia have passed ignition interlock laws for all drunk driving offenders. MADD calls on every state to pass all-offender ignition interlock laws and improve existing laws to ensure all offenders use an ignition interlock as soon as possible after a drunk driving offense.
MADD also encourages every law enforcement agency to participate in NHTSA’s upcoming Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign to increase enforcement in December.
“While vehicle safety is improving, 94 percent of all traffic deaths are caused by human error,” Sheehey-Church wrote in a letter to members of Congress. “MADD is concerned that the trending increase in highway deaths points to a public health crisis that has largely gone unnoticed.”
Trenton NJ, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced today that New Jersey has filed a four-count lawsuit against Insys Therapeutics, Inc. charging that the company engaged in a greed-driven campaign of consumer fraud and submission of false claims to health insurers to increase the market share for its powerful opioid-fentanyl drug Subsys.
Filed today in Superior Court in Middlesex County, the State’s complaint charges that, despite Subsys only having Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the “narrow” purpose of treating breakthrough cancer pain in opioid-tolerant patients, Insys unlawfully directed its sales force to push Subsys for prescription to a broader patient population – patients suffering any type of chronic pain – and at higher doses.
Among other things, the complaint alleges that, Insys’s greed has put “hundreds” of lives in jeopardy and “led to the death of at least one New Jersey resident” – a 32-year-old Camden County woman who was prescribed Subsys for fibromyalgia. In addition, the suit notes that two New Jersey state employee health benefits plans paid a total of approximately $10.3 million to reimburse Subsys prescriptions between 2012 and the third-quarter of 2016, while the State Worker’s Compensation Program paid another $300,000.
“The conduct alleged in our lawsuit is nothing short of evil,” said Attorney General Porrino. “Knowing full well it was putting lives in peril by pushing for broad based consumption of a highly-specialized and incredibly powerful prescription drug – a form of fentanyl approved only for treatment of pain-racked and opioid-tolerant cancer patients – Insys allegedly forged ahead and did it anyway.
“We contend that the company used every trick in the book, including sham speaking and consulting fees and other illegal kickbacks, in a callous campaign to boost profits from the sale of its marquee drug Subsys,” Porrino said.
The State’s lawsuit includes three counts alleging violation of New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act and one count alleging violation of the New Jersey False Claims Act. The suit asks that Insys be assessed maximum civil penalties for each violation of the Consumer Fraud Act, and seeks three times the State’s actual damages for violations of the False Claims Act, per that statute. The suit also seeks to have Insys held responsible for costs and fees incurred by the State in bringing the case.
From the 2012 market launch of Subsys until the present, the drug has accounted for approximately 98 percent of net revenues for Insys, a Delaware corporation with headquarters in Chandler, AZ.
Insys, which has raised the price of Subsys every year since its launch, sold $74.2 million worth of the drug in New Jersey between 2012 and the third-quarter of 2016.
The State’s lawsuit alleges corporate decision-makers devised a strategy to expand what they recognized as a limited market for Subsys by aggressively pushing “off label” uses of the drug – even to podiatrists and other specialty practitioners who typically would have little call to prescribe powerful Schedule II painkillers.
Off-label use denotes use of a drug for purposes other than that for which it was approved by the FDA. Based on their independent medical judgment, physicians have discretion to legally prescribe drugs for off-label use. However, drug companies are prohibited from promoting their products for such uses in an untruthful or misleading way, and influencing healthcare provider’s prescription decisions with payments and other benefits.
“Insys made tens of millions of dollars in sales in New Jersey,” said Porrino. “Clearly, raking in more money was the engine that drove this subversive and illegal plan to push a potent and, in the wrong patient, potentially lethal form of fentanyl to a broader audience. As we explicitly claim in our lawsuit, Insys and its leadership were willing to do whatever was necessary to make Subsys successful.”
Packed in a single-dose spray device intended for oral administration, Subsys is a transmucosal, immediate-release formulation of fentanyl. In the drug’s first year on the market, a one-month supply of the lowest available strength of Subsys – 100 mcg doses – cost approximately $2,800. By 2015, the price of the same supply had spiraled to more than $4,000. The State’s lawsuit alleges that Insys regularly misled health insurance plans and pharmaceutical benefits managers to help secure coverage for Subsys prescriptions.
Specifically, the complaint charges, Insys representatives used or developed false records – including false diagnoses of cancer, breakthrough cancer pain and other afflictions – to help lock in pre-authorization approvals and ensure paid reimbursement claims.
The complaint alleges that Insys representatives went so far as to conceal the company’s telephone number from benefits managers and insurers so those entities would not be aware that it was Insys Reimbursement Center employees – calling directly from Insys – in an effort to obtain insurance reimbursement approvals for prescriptions of Subsys.
The suit also alleges that Insys routinely misled consumers by, among other things, making false representations that doctors and other prescribers were prescribing Subsys on the basis of their unbiased, independent clinical judgment when, in fact, that clinical judgment had been “co-opted based on Insys’s unlawful payment of kickbacks to prescribers.”
More than 840 people in New Jersey died from heroin or opioid abuse in 2010 and according to the State’s lawsuit, the confirmed heroin/opioid death toll in New Jersey jumped to more than 1,000 in the first half of 2016 alone (with projections of 2,000 deaths or more by year’s end.) At the same time, the complaint asserts, the number of people admitted to state-licensed or certified substance abuse treatment programs in New Jersey due to abuse of heroin or other opiates increased from about 33,000 in 2012 to more than 38,000 in 2016.
The complaint further points out that, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, 80 percent of new heroin users began their addictions by misusing prescription pain medications. It also notes that opiate-related deaths in the U.S. have more than quadrupled since 1999, according to the national Centers for Disease Control.
“As we allege, The fact that Insys was unlawfully flooding the market with a fentanyl product 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine seems not to have troubled the company at all,” Porrino said. “Nor, it appears, was it bothered by the notion that such a strategy could contribute to, and exacerbate, the grave opiate crisis being confronted by New Jersey and every other state. Insys launched a business plan that we allege was propelled by titanic greed and corporate irresponsibility, and we’re committed to holding them accountable for it.”
Assistant Attorney General John M. Falzone and Deputy Attorneys General from the Division of Law’s Government and Healthcare Fraud Section — including Section Chief Janine N. Matton, and Deputy Attorneys General Lara J. Fogel and Evan A. Showell – handled the Insys matter on behalf of the State.
Ridgewood NJ, The pictured signs have just been posted at all parking areas being used on Friday and Saturday nights for the Village’s Central Valet Parking program.
Chapter 265-44 of the Village of Ridgewood Code, cited on each posted sign, reads as follows:
§ 265-44. Posting of signs.
A. Upon the declaration of an emergency, there shall be no parking upon streets or parts of streets where temporary emergency no parking signs are displayed. The Chief of Police, or in his absence the ranking police officer, is authorized to declare an emergency and to direct the posting of said emergency no-parking signs when weather conditions, accidents, fires or public celebrations dictate or require the avoidance of hazards or other conditions which interfere with the free flow of traffic.
B. Notification that the emergency no-parking signs are being or will be posted shall be given to the operator or owner of any vehicle which has been parked prior to the posting of the signs.
What exactly is the emergency (as defined by subsection “A” of 265-44) associated with Valet Parking? And, the North Walnut Street Municipal Parking Lot is not a “street.” So would any summonses issued for 265-44 at that location even hold up in court?
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood blog staff translates Jeff Voigt’s recent pro garage letter to the editor .
One of the initiatives important to Ridgewood council members elected last year is to build a garage on Hudson Street, an area close to the train station. Prime users are rail commuters during the day and restaurant goers at night. NOPE – the taxpayers do not need to spend a fortune just so commuters can park in an ugly garage and restaurants can pad their wallets.
In this three block area, there are 50 restaurants with close to 3,000 seats. Ordinances that deal with such intensity of use issues generally call for one parking space for every two to three restaurant seats or; approximately 1,250 parking spaces needed for the restaurants alone. There is a supply of 655 parking spaces in this area. This is total bullshit. At any given time there are more empty spaces in Ridgewood than you can count. Just walk a block or two before sitting down to your meal. This is some funky math that our elected official is playing with.
Add to this, that on any given night approximately 280 of these spaces are taken up by restaurant employees. In other words, the supply is actually 375 spaces for restaurants goers or; a shortage of 875 spaces. In my conversations with restaurant owners, they’ve told me during the first seating for the Thursday through Saturday high-demand times, their customers are able to find a parking space. However, at the second seating many out-of-towners will drive around for 15-20 minutes in frustration, not find a parking space and then leave. This obviously hurts our village’s businesses. The central valet may solve this. Or they can park on Cottage place and walk two blocks, just like you would do in the city. Come on people…..walk a little, or spend millions and millions of dollars on an ugly garage?
Back in 2015, a non-binding referendum for a garage on Hudson Street was voted 2-1 in favor for building a garage by voters. So why can’t the Village Council move forward on this? Voigt conveniently fails to mention that in 2016 there were TWO referendums that reversed this, one of which was binding. And he conveniently fails to mention that the 2015 referendum was flawed because Aronsohn and company gave false information to the voters who thought they were just voting for “more parking.” Furthermore, Voigt neglects to mention that he signed the two VOTE NO TO THE GARAGE petitions, he collected signatures himself for these, he solicited people to sign, he made a video encouraging people to sign, and his wife and daughter signed.
In early February, a subcommittee was formed to figure out how best to move forward in building the garage. The mayor and one other council member volunteered quickly for the committee, preventing other council members from serving. Due to public meeting laws, no more than two council members can be present at any one time on official business. The Mayor said on October 4 at the Village Counci meeting that no such subcommittee was ever formed, she is therefore obviously not on it, and other members of the council all agreed publicly at the meeting that they are not on it and it does not exist. Voigt was conveniently (and inexplicably) not in attendance at the meeting on October 4. I believe the mayor needs to be taken off the garage subcommittee and replaced by a council member who wants the garage built. Why she is on it, is a mystery to me. She has never come out publicly in support of the Hudson Street garage. The Mayor cannot be taken off a subcommittee that exists only in the fantasy corners of Voigt’s corrupted brain. Furthermore, the Mayor did in fact publicly support the Hudson Street garage, voting in favor of it while stating that it needed to be smaller. Another FACT that Voigt gets wrong.
Information coming out of the garage sub-committee has been virtually non-existent. Even as a council person, I often first hear about the Hudson Street garage at public meetings. There is no garage subcommittee. Got it Jeff? It does not exist.
The public has a right to know about such issues as building a garage. It is their money that will be spent. The public has a right to know that Councilman Voigt spews lies with every breath he exhales.
Jeff Voigt
Ridgewood, Sept. 24
The writer is a soon-to-be-former Ridgewood councilman.
Ridgewood NJ, Were you a Marching Band member in 1992 or 1997? On Friday, October 13, members of the 1992 and 1997 Ridgewood High School Marching Bands will return to RHS as they celebrate the 25th and 20th anniversaries of their Championship seasons. The bands will be recognized in a halftime ceremony at the home football game as the Maroons take on Bergen Tech. Game time is 6 p.m. and halftime is expected to begin at approximately 6:45 p.m. Following the football game, the band alumni will congregate at MacMurphy’s Pub in Ridgewood for a reception and celebration.
THE RIDGEWOOD VILLAGE COUNCIL’S
PUBLIC WORKSHOP AGENDA
OCTOBER 4, 2017
7:30 P.M.
7:30 pm – Call to Order – Mayor
Statement of Compliance with Open Public Meeting Act
Mayor: “Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by a posting on the bulletin board in Village Hall, by mail to the Ridgewood News, The Record, and by submission to all persons entitled to same as provided by law of a schedule including the date and time of this meeting.”
Roll Call – Village Clerk
Flag Salute/Moment of Silence
Public Comments (Not to Exceed 3 Minutes per Person – 40 Minutes in Total)
Presentation
Ridgewood American Legion Post 53 – “The Spirit of America’s Story – The Wall”
Discussion
Ridgewood Water
Award Contract – Laboratory Analysis
Award Contract – Servicing & Repairing Electric Source
Award Contract – Emergency Generator Installations
Award Contract – Servicing & Repairing Potable Water Pumping Facilities
Award Contract – Furnishing & Delivering Sodium Hypochlorite Solution
Parking
Budget
2016 Annual Audit and Corrective Action Plan
Award Contract – Odor Control System – Water Pollution Control Facility
Award Additional Partial Contract – Road Resurfacing and Repair
Award Contract for Professional Services – Grant Writer
Award Contract – Chestnut Street Dumpster Pad
Policy
Proposed Legislative Changes to Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and Open Public Records Act (OPRA)
Operations
Authorization of 2018 NJDOT Paving Grant Application
Best Practices Worksheet
Proposed Traffic Ordinance – South Hillside Place
Review of October 11, 2017 Public Meeting Agenda
Manager’s Report
Council Reports
Public Comments (Not to Exceed 5 Minutes per Person)
Resolution to go into Closed Session
Closed Session
Legal – COAH, Valley Hospital, Barrington Road
Contract Negotiations – Potential Purchase of Property
Personnel – Boards & Committees, Management and Non-Union Salaries
Adjournment
photo courtesy of Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco
October 3,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paraums NJ, On Monday Bergen County officials unveiled the new name of the former Bergen Regional Medical Center in Paramus.Bergen Regional Medical Center is now New Bridge Medical Center, a clinical affiliate of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences.
Care Plus Bergen, Inc. was welcomed at a ceremony Monday morning . The new non-profit is an alliance between Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Integrity House, and Care Plus NJ Inc., and will manage the day to day operations of the hospital and its core services of behavioral health, addiction treatment, long-term care and acute care.
John Mitchell Former Chairman at Bergen County Freeholder said ,”New Bridge Medical Center is the new name for the former Bergen Regional Medical Center…
…A bridge to a bright new future is underway as the County of Bergen and Care Plus Bergen begin a new partnership at NJ’s largest public hospital…
…I very much look forward to serving on the Care Plus Bergen Board of Trustees and having the goal of connecting compassion with quality care…”
Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco said ,
Today, the County of Bergen officially began the new and exciting journey for New Jersey’s largest public hospital. Members from the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the new medical center management team of Care Plus Bergen with third party-operators- Care Plus NJ, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, and Integrity House, and I officially unveiled the name new name of the facility – New Bridge Medical Center – at a ceremony morning.
New Bridge is a name that reflects both Bergen County history and the vision for the future of this medical center.
New Bridge Medical Center will enhance long-term care, acute care and behavioral health services while maintaining the hospital’s core mission of treating people with mental health and substance abuse issues. New Bridge Medical Center will also increase access to much-needed services across 27 medical specialties in order to meet the needs of Bergen County residents and patients.
New Bridge Medical Center will pursue innovative ways to improve health care access for the nearly 40,000 veterans living in Bergen County and northern New Jersey. Furthermore, New Bridge Medical Center, which is recognized as a leading health care provider in substance abuse treatment, will continue to be at the forefront of combatting the opioid epidemic by increasing access to these specific services. The hospital is committed to working with each of its partners to deliver first-rate, compassionate and innovative care to support every patient through their recovery.
This is truly another great day for Bergen County!
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Water Reminder: Two-day per week irrigation is permanent year round. Stage II restrictions (2 days per week irrigation) were imposed in June 2016 and are still in effect in Glen Rock, Midland Park, Ridgewood and Wyckoff. Without these restrictions, the use of drinking water for irrigation will continue increasing toward levels that are unsustainable regardless of drought conditions. To reverse this trend, an ordinance was approved by the Village Council on April 12, 2017 to amend the provisions governing Watering and Water Emergencies in the Village of Ridgewood Code. Changes include:
Making 2 days per week irrigation permanent year round,
Restricting irrigation hours to limit losses to evaporation,
Restricting irrigation using private wells to 2 days a week,
Adding new exemptions, including drip irrigation and smart controllers.
The following column appeared in The Ridgewood News on September 29, 2017.
Welcome to the new school year! We got off to a great start on September 6, hit our stride early on, and continue to enjoy a positive energy in all our schools.
As is the case each year, credit must be given for our strong start and smooth transition to the effort this summer of many administrators, teachers and support staff who worked hard to ensure that our programs and buildings were in top shape when the opening bell rang. From important changes in our curricula and programs to the hiring of several new staff, from facility projects across the district to technology improvements and implementation, we had a very busy and successful summer.
Here is a snapshot from my Opening of School Report, which may be read in its entirety on the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us:
• We welcomed 5766 students on the first day of school.
• New or revised curriculum was written for 74 courses.
• At Ridgewood High School, new courses were added to the Business, Science, Computer Science and Technology departments.
• Newly hired for 2017-2018 are 49 staff members, representing either new positions due to enrollment or initiatives, or replacements for employees that resigned, retired, or are on leave.
• Renovations across the district included floor tile asbestos abatement, new flooring, painting, electrical work, new bathroom partitions and window replacements. Additional facility projects were completed at each school that ranged from boiler replacements through our Energy Savings Improvement Plan (ESIP) and state-of-the-art drinking fountain replacements featuring water filters and filling stations, to remodeling for the implementation of full-day Kindergarten.
• Technology upgrades in classrooms and buildings, and improvements to building security were completed.
As we prepared to open our doors, schools in other parts of our nation were either temporarily shuttered or transformed into emergency shelters in preparation for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Thankfully the devastation was far from Ridgewood, yet I am very happy to report that our schools still sprang into action to help, so that on opening day coin jars for the American Red Cross hurricane relief efforts were prominently on display and filling rapidly in every building. Also there were Soles 4 Souls collection boxes. What a great reminder that our education program goes beyond academics, that we continually seek out opportunities for humanitarian service so that our students may grow their character as well as their minds, and that we can help them learn the value of global citizenship. These things are a critical part of what we do, too.
Last year at this time your Board of Education turned its attention to the goal of implementing full-day Kindergarten in the district, which was approved by Ridgewood voters last November. This September, after remodeling classrooms, writing curriculum and hiring teachers, we joined the majority of New Jersey’s public districts when we welcomed our first full-day K classes. There are several key factors in favor of full-day K, notably the ability to provide more time in the daily schedule for structured play experiences designed to reinforce learning. It is exciting to see our mission of excellence at work in the classrooms of our youngest students, who are now presented with an even stronger opportunity to effectively learn and thrive than ever before.
Another project from last school year, the May 2017 parent-guardian survey report was presented at the September 25 Board meeting. The fifth district-wide satisfaction survey since 2010, the results this time around are again quite positive in areas ranging from the quality of our educational programs to satisfaction with the school facilities, extracurricular offerings, communications and the Chromebook initiative. Thank you to the nearly 31 percent of our parents and guardians who took the time to complete the survey. Your input supports our ongoing efforts to review and refine our programs and practices. Survey results for all schools and the district are posted on our website.
There’s an upcoming opportunity for residents to meet with the Board and me to informally discuss the survey, full-day K, or any other school-related topic of interest to you. On Wednesday night, October 18, we’ll have the coffee brewing at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place, from 7-8:30 p.m. for the first of three dates set for Coffee and Conversation this school year. Our work requires the support of our broader community and we are appreciative of your trust, enthusiasm and financial commitment to our mission of excellence. We’d like to know you better, so please drop by on October 18 with your questions, suggestions and concerns.
Thanks to all, we are off to a great start to the 2017-2018 school year. I look forward to updating you throughout the upcoming months on all things Ridgewood Public Schools.
As always, please feel free to contact me with your questions or concerns.
Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D., is Superintendent of the Ridgewood Public Schools. Dr. Fishbein can be reached at 201-670-2700, ext. 10530, or via e-mail at [email protected]
Ridgewood NJ, Hosted by Bolger Heritage Center, Ridgewood Public Library , an Author Visit with Dean Cardasis who will do a talk at the Rose Center.
Ridgewood resident, James Rose, has been described as the James Dean of landscape architecture. Expelled from Harvard for refusing to design in the prescribed Beaux Arts style of his day, Rose foresaw residential design in the American suburb as a fusion of flexible indoor and outdoor modern space. Conceived of while stationed in Okinawa during World War 2, the home Rose designed and built in Ridgewood for himself, his mother and sister is an excellent example of important design ideas that challenged the status quo, ideas which are both relevant and revelatory.
Based on his recent book, James Rose: A Voice Offstage, Professor Cardasis’s talk will put Rose’s ideas in the context of his times and present some of Rose’s important alternatives to conventional suburban residential design, with a special focus on Rose’s own home in Ridgewood.
All welcome, no registration required.
A tour of the James Rose Center will immediately follow the lecture.
Monday at 7 PM – 8:30 PM
Next Week · 50–73°Sunny
Bolger Heritage Center, Ridgewood Public Library
125 N Maple Ave, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450
Ridgewood NJ, Just published! Results of the May 2017 parent / guardian satisfaction survey are out and posted on our website. Lets see how the “Tradition of Excellence ” faired . Take a look at your school’s responses and that of the whole district at this link: https://tinyurl.com/y94h23eu
Participation Rate In-District 5690 enrolled , 8183 (63 bounced) total emails send , 2498 responded or 30.8% .
Respondents Strongly agree 33.41% or agree 53.59% with the statement I am satisfied with the overall quality of my child’s education.
While Respondents Strongly agree 40.09% and agree 43.85 with the statement I would recommend my child’s school to other parents.
School staff members (teachers / principal / support staff) are responsive to my parental concerns, Scored a 32.49% Strongly agree and a 47.16% agree , the district administration and/or Board of Education are responsive to my parental concerns, scored a very poor 13.73% Strongly agree and 29.72% agree.
Perhaps it is a good time to mark your calendars and grab a coffee. Members of the Ridgewood Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Daniel Fishbein will host residents for coffee and casual conversation on Wednesday, October 18 from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place. Residents are welcome to drop in and share their thoughts, questions, suggestions and concerns
Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey has a long and proud history of public corruption. A dozen Garden State mayors who have been forced to resign over the past decade due to criminal convictions. Mostly Democrats (10) ,but a few Republicans trying to get in on the action .
Paterson Mayor Jose “Joey” Torres, a Democrat, pleaded guilty on Friday to conspiracy to commit official misconduct for having employees with the Department of Public Works perform work for the mayor and his family members while bilking the city out of overtime. Torres follows a long line of Mayoral criminality .
Passaic Mayor Alex Blanco, a Democrat, was sentenced in April to more than two years in prison after pleading guilty to a federal bribery charge for soliciting $110,000 in bribes from developers in exchange for sending federal housing funds their way.
Passaic Mayor Samuel “Sammy” Rivera, a Democrat, pleaded guilty in 2008 to extortion for accepting $5,000 in cash from an insurance brokerage firm. Rivera, who was among 11 public officials swept up in a statewide FBI sting, was sentenced to 21 months in prison.
Newark Mayor Sharpe James, a Democrat, was convicted in 2008 on federal fraud and conspiracy charges for helping a woman described as his mistress buy nine plots in a city redevelopment zone, among other acts of wrongdoing. James was sentenced to 27 months in prison.
Trenton Mayor Tony Mack, a Democrat, was sentenced in May 2014 to nearly five years in prison in connection with a $119,000 bribery scheme linked to a parking garage project operated by FBI informants.
Hamilton Mayor John Bencivengo, a Democrat, was released from prison in December 2014 after serving more than 18 months in federal prison. He was sentenced to 38 months in prison for accepting $12,400 in bribes from Marliese Ljuba, a close friend and health insurance broker for the school district.
Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammaranno, a Democrat, was among 44 people swept up in Operation Bid Rig. Cammarano, who’d been in office for only 22 days before his arrest, was sentenced in August 2010 to two years in prison, and later disbarred.
Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, a Democrat, was sentenced in April 2012 to two-and-a-half years in prison after he was convicted of accepting $10,000 in cash through a middleman from Solomon Dwek, as part of Operation Bid Rig. Elwell, who resigned from his position shortly after his arrest, later lost an appeal challenging his conviction.
Northvale Mayor Paul Bazela, a Democrat and a former foreman for the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission, pleaded guilty to theft in March 2016 to having his workers perform renovations at the home of the commission’s former superintendent, Kevin Keogh, while on agency time. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
Guttenberg Mayor David Delle Donna, a Democrat, and his wife were each sentenced in 2008 to more than four years in prison for accepting more than $40,000 in gifts and cash campaign contributions from a local bar owner.
Of coarse Democrats don’t have all the fun ;
Manalapan Mayor Andrew Lucas, a Republican, was sentenced to five years in prison for fraud in connection with a $1.2 million farm deal. Convicted on charges of wire fraud, an illegal monetary transaction, loan application fraud, false statements to the IRS, aggravated identity theft, obstruction of a grand jury investigation and falsification of records in a federal investigation.
Chesterfield Mayor Lawrence Durr, a Republican, was sentenced in April 2016 to four years probation after he admitted to filing false ethics disclosure forms that failed to disclose his financial relationship with a real estate developer. Durr was accused in an indictment of selling development rights on his farm to Renaissance Properties at a profit and then using his official positions to advance the company’s interests in Chesterfield.
45 kilos of fentanyl seized by the State Police could have yielded 18 million lethal doses
September 30,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino today announced the indictment of four men in connection with the record-setting seizure of 45 kilograms – or nearly 100 pounds – of the super-potent synthetic opioid fentanyl by the New Jersey State Police in June. The State Police also seized nearly 40 kilos of heroin.
Fentanyl is one of the deadliest opioids, with a potency that is 50 times greater than heroin. The 45 kilos of fentanyl could have yielded over 18 million lethal doses, since a dose as small as 2 to 3 milligrams can be fatal. This case shatters the prior record for the largest seizure of fentanyl by law enforcement in New Jersey, which was set in March when the New Jersey State Police and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations seized 14 kilos of fentanyl in Camden. The fentanyl seized in June – including 40 kilos seized in North Bergen and five kilos seized in the same operation in Willingboro – was initially suspected to be heroin because of the huge quantity, but lab testing revealed it was fentanyl.
“The 45 kilos of fentanyl seized in this case is the largest fentanyl bust in the history of the state, having broken the prior record announced only a few months ago,” said Attorney General Porrino. “Dealers lace heroin with this deadly poison to boost potency, and with these amounts of fentanyl being stockpiled in New Jersey, I am desperately urging heroin users to seek treatment now more than ever, as their next dose could be their last. Fentanyl is so deadly that just these 45 kilos of fentanyl could have yielded enough lethal doses to kill the entire populations of New Jersey and New York City combined.”
The Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau obtained a state grand jury indictment charging the following three men with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl (2nd degree), possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute (2nd degree), and possession of fentanyl (3rd degree), in connection with the seizure of 40 kilos of fentanyl in North Bergen:
Jesus Carrillo-Pineda, 31, of Philadelphia, Pa.,
Jesus Yanez-Martinez, 22, of Somerton, Arizona, and
Daniel Vasquez, 28, of Somerton, Arizona.
Yanez-Martinez and Vasquez each face a charge of distribution of fentanyl (2nd degree), and Carrillo-Pineda faces a charge of possession of heroin (3rd degree) related to the North Bergen arrests.
The indictment also charges Carrillo-Pineda and Omar Zeus Rodriguez, 38, of Willingboro, N.J., in connection with the seizure in Willingboro of five kilos of fentanyl, nearly 40 kilos of heroin, and a smaller quantity of methamphetamine. They are each charged with conspiracy (2nd degree), possession of heroin with intent to distribute (1st degree), possession of heroin (3rd degree), possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute (1st degree), possession of methamphetamine (3rd degree), possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute (2nd degree), and possession of fentanyl (3rd degree).
“Cases like this involving the interdiction of major drug traffickers represent just one facet of our efforts to fight the opiate epidemic,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We also have a strike team that has criminally charged six doctors with indiscriminately prescribing opioid pain pills for profit, including two who face first-degree charges of strict liability for a drug-induced death. We are bringing the full force of the law to bear on those responsible for fueling opiate addiction.”
“The unfortunate trend of adding fentanyl to narcotics has created a demand for this deadly opiate, putting not only the lives of users in grave danger, but also the lives of troopers and other first responders who may have come into contact with it,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “It is without question that this record-setting seizure of fentanyl preserved life and saved countless families the agony of losing a loved one to this terrible scourge.”
During the investigation, New Jersey State Police detectives from the Trafficking North Unit developed information that a shipment of drugs was being delivered to a location in North Bergen. On June 28, 2017, State Police detectives, assisted by members of the North Bergen Police Department, located and arrested Carrillo-Pineda, Yanez-Martinez and Vasquez in the parking lot of a business in North Bergen after observing an alleged drug transaction, in which the fentanyl allegedly was transferred from a tractor-trailer occupied by Yanez-Martinez and Vasquez to a Mercedes Benz driven by Carrillo-Pineda. The arrests resulted in the seizure of the 40 kilograms of fentanyl, which were individually wrapped and held in two black duffel bags that had been transferred to the trunk of the Mercedes Benz. A search of the car also revealed a handbag containing $1,050 in U.S. currency and a small quantity of heroin. The 40 individually wrapped kilos of fentanyl were initially suspected to be heroin, but lab testing revealed the packages contained fentanyl.
The next day, June 29, State Police detectives of the Trafficking South Unit continued the investigation with assistance from the Willingboro Police Department, conducting a search at Rodriguez’s residence in Willingboro, where Carrillo-Pineda had been staying. As a result, detectives arrested Rodriguez and seized nearly 80 kilos of suspected narcotics. Rodriguez was loading suitcases into a Range Rover outside his residence when he was approached by detectives. The drugs were found in the suitcases and an open Fed Ex box in the vehicle’s trunk. Testing confirmed that the seized kilos included five kilos of fentanyl, nearly 40 kilos of heroin, and a smaller quantity of methamphetamine. Other kilo packages contained cutting agents.
While it has been spotlighted for killing Prince and other celebrities, fentanyl also is responsible for a growing death toll in New Jersey, where there were 417 overdose deaths from fentanyl in 2015, and 394 overdose deaths from fentanyl and fentanyl analogs in just the first six months of 2016. Fentanyl is commonly mixed with heroin or cocaine for sale on the street, or is sold in powder compounds or counterfeit pills disguised as heroin, oxycodone or Xanax. Fentanyl is now found in approximately 30 percent of the heroin specimens tested by the New Jersey State Police forensic laboratories. By comparison, fentanyl was found in only 2 percent of the heroin tested by those labs in the first quarter of 2015. Given the tiny size of a lethal dose, drug users are dying because dealers are careless about how much fentanyl they put in such mixes and pills.
Fentanyl is so potent that medics and police across the U.S. have been sickened by coming into contact with it while responding to overdoses or making arrests. The State Police Hazardous Materials Response Unit assisted with the search in Willingboro to address the concern about collateral exposure.
In addition to fentanyl, seven fentanyl knock-offs have been sold on the street in New Jersey, usually disguised as less-powerful drugs like heroin or oxycodone, triggering overdose deaths. The Attorney General’s Office issued an emergency order last year adding those fentanyl knockoffs to the list of drugs subject to the strictest level of state control.
Deputy Attorney General Norma Garcia presented the indictment to the state grand jury for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau, under the supervision of Deputy Bureau Chief Annmarie Taggart and Bureau Chief Lauren Scarpa Yfantis.
Detective Sgt. Jeovanny Rodriguez was the lead detective for the investigation for the State Police Intelligence Section, Violent & Organized Crime Control Bureau North, Trafficking North Unit. Detective Garrett Cullen was the lead detective for the investigation for the State Police Intelligence Section, Violent & Organized Crime Control Bureau South, Trafficking South Unit. Attorney General Porrino commended all of the detectives and troopers who participated in the investigation for the New Jersey State Police. He also thanked the North Bergen Police Department and Willingboro Police Department for their assistance.
The first-degree charges carry a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $200,000. Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while the third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $35,000.
The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The indictment was handed up to Superior Court Judge Mary C. Jacobson in Mercer County, who assigned the case to Hudson County, where the defendants will be ordered to appear in court at a later date for arraignment.
Jersey City NJ, Carmine Disbrow the president of a Jersey City police union that is in a contract dispute with Democrat Mayor Steve Fulop’s administration is calling on the mayor to release a recording of the mayor’s top staffers allegedly discussing their efforts to rig a bid in 2014. According to depositions filed as part of a discrimination lawsuit, two Jersey City employees claimed that in 2014, three top Fulop administration officials tried to influence a public bidding process for an energy consultant in favor of a company.
Jersey City POBA Statement On Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop:
September 28, 2017
Carmine Disbrow, President, JC POBA:
Mayor Fulop has been quick to rush to judgement against the men and women of the Jersey City Police Department, yet when it comes to wrongdoing in his office he is silent. This again shows that in every instance he is willing to put his own politics ahead of moving Jersey City in the right direction.
To say that he passed the audio on to corporation counsel Jeremy Farrell, another political appointee, is nothing more than attempting to sweep things under the rug, and an insult to us all. The question remains what steps did Mayor Fulop take to root out what appears to be corruption that was happening right under his nose.
The Jersey City POBA is standing alongside so many other residents and community groups to demand that he release the tapes and come clean about what he knows about his appointees steering taxpayer funded contracts to politically connected vendors.
